The New Year's Not About Starting Over
by TeenageDreamer307
Summary: Caitlyn's miserable at Tess' New Year's party because of a certain girl from her past. What happens when the clock strikes midnight? Afterall, the new year IS about starting over...or is it? Caitlyn/Lola Cola? lol


Blaring music. Alcohol. Dirty Dancing. Seizure-inducing strobe lights. All in one spot thanks to a certain friend of mine. If you walked in and asked any random person where you were, they'd tell you you were in L.A., but me? I know we're in a whole different _world _right now. Her world. Party Palace. The biggest, baddest, "bitchin-est" bash of the year.

Tess Tyler's New Year's Eve party.

Surprise, surprise Tess hosting this kind of shindig? Ha, not even! This was an annual thing held on the Tyler child's infamous loft every December 31st thought well into the morning of January 1st. It started out as just a thing to get me, Mitchie, Barry, Sander, Lola, and the Grey guys together when we were on break in college, but it's gotten bigger and better every year. I thought I heard Tess say something about a 13ft tall chocolate fountain...

I don't know, but it doesn't matter anyway. Caitlyn Gellar doesn't do parties. I just came because Mitchie begged me to, and I can't say no to that girl. I managed to sneak away in one of the spare rooms upstairs and I've been hiding up here for about three hours playing Mario on their Wii. I heard a knocking at the door and sighed. Damn, so close...

"Cait?" came Micthie's voice from the other side. "Caitlyn, I know you're in there."

"Then why bother knocking?" I asked. Mitchie opened the door and leaned against the frame.

"You could've had a girl in here." she teased. "And I wouldn't want to interrupt anything."

"Nope it's just me, myself, and Mario." I said, focusing back on my game. "Wanna join us?" Mitchie sighed and I knew she was rolling her eyes at me.

"There's a cute blonde downstairs. . ." she tried to bring it up casually. "And she's one of Shane's friends. She wants to meet you."

"Be down in a minute, after this race." I told her. I didn't want her to set me up with anyone. I love Mitchie to death, but she doesn't get it. None of my friends do.

"That's what you said last time." Mitchie sighed. "Cait, I just want you to be happy-Cait, are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute." I mumbled, not really concentrating on what she told me.I heard a huff and the next thing I know, the TV goes black.

"Hey!" I frowned as the brunette smirked and twirled the plug between her fingers. "What'd you do that for?"

"To get you off that game and downstairs to have fun with your friends!" she smiled. "You only get to ring in the New Year once. Last year, you locked yourself in my room, got drunk, passed out and woke up at 3am."

"Nice way to bring in the year if you ask me." I muttered, sitting on the bed. "What do I wanna be around everyone for? Even if we're all together when the clock strikes 12, I'm still the same person I was a minute ago. We can never start over, just pick up with where we left off. I don't have anyone to kiss at midnight. I don't have what you and Tess or Nate and Peggy or Jason and Ella have. I'm better off by myself." Mitchie came over and sat beside me. She put her arm around me like she always does when something's wrong.

"You had someone once. You can can have someone again." she said gently. I felt a pang in my heart as a boatload of unwanted memories came back to me.

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out." I quipped, crossing my arms. "She's probably in India making history in all sorts of movies and hasn't thought about me since. I don't wanna talk about her, okay?" I never got angry with Mitchie, but this was something entirely different. Caitlin Gellar is not a lovey-dovey kind of chick, in fact, no one has ever made me fall in love. . .

Except Lola.

"I'm sorry." Mitchie apologized. It was a tender spot and she knew she hit it. "I just hate seeing you this, Cait. You're tired and depressed all the time. You haven't written anything new in months."

"It's a stupid slump." I muttered, explaining for the fifth time.

"Exactly: a slump." Mitchie stressed. "Please Cait, just come down for an hour and try to have some fun? For me?" I gave in and surrendered. Crap, what am I getting myself into?

**.oOo.**

Mitchie got me to drink and unwind a bit. I danced with Peggy and Ella and then with Jason and Shane before I quit and claimed my seat at the bar. I'm glad Mitchie let Tess build a bar in their basement; it's gotten me through some crappy birthday parties and a bunch of new years. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves tonight. Nate and Peggy or as we call them, John and Yoko, were playing on a makeshift stage fo the night. Jason and Ella were sitting at a table, talking and laughing really loud. Shane was doing his playboy thing around a group of girls, Barry and Sander were doing this "tough guy" drinking contest (idiots), and Mitchie and Tess certainly weren't shy about having fun on the dance floor. It was weird to watch them kiss and flirt and tease each other as they danced; not 'cause they're my best friends, but because I never would've pictured them together and here they fit so well.

"Hey, get a room!" I teased at them. Tess wrapped her arms around Mitchie's waist possessively as they moved to the music.

"We would, but a certain red-headed friend of ours keep taking it." Mitchie teased back, briefly leaning her head back to kiss Tess. The blonde rested her chin on Mitchie's shoulder and smiled mischievously.

"Well, no one's in there now." she said suggestively. Mitchie leaned back and whispered something in her ear that made her blush and grip the brunette's hips excitedly. Damn, now my hiding spot is definitely unclean. They disappeared with no more than eager giggles and I decided to duck out, too. There were only a few minutes before the new year and even though I'd had fun, I didn't want to be around the happy couples when they rang in the new year together. I snuck outside on the balcony and looked up at the stars in the sky. I leaned against the railing as I felt myself smile.

"You always did like stargazing." an old voice spoke behind me. I didn't bother to turn around and face its owner. "It was something we did every summer in my Jeep." I heard footsteps grow closer and closer until there was another woman standing beside me.

"Every summer before you left me." I shot back with a new bitterness. She sighed and the silence kicked in.

"Cait, I'm sorry." she apologized softly. "I was young and stupid then. I thought everything would be okay if-"

"Stop, Lola. Please." I bit my lip to suppress the tears that wanted to fall. I wouldn't show any weakness to her, not after two tedious years of waiting for her to call, to come back, to make everything okay again. "I don't want you to apologize, okay? I'm a big girl, I got over it. I understand." As much as I hated it, my voice began to crack. I felt Lola's hand over mine and I was torn; apart of me wanted to rip my hand away and another part of me missed the feeling and warmth of her holding me. I was weak. She made me weak. I let her hand stay.

"Look, I know I was a total screw up in the girlfriend department," Lola said, rubbing her thumb over the back of my hand. "But I've done a lot of growing and I feel terrible about what happened."

"Y-You do?" I turned to her and asked the question before I even thought about it. That was the first time I had looked at her in two years. God she was beautiful. She had changed a lot, but I liked it. She was just a kid going off to college the last time we were alone; now she was mature, looking more like a woman than ever before. It suited her nicely. I think an involuntary "wow" escaped me and her brown eyes dazzled as she chuckled at me.

"I'm sorry." I rambled. "It's just been so long and you're really pretty and uh-"

"Cait, hun calm down." she smiled. "It's just me. The same old Lo, just improved." She looked at me with something I've never seen in her eyes before. Regret, maybe? "I really thought I was doing the best thing by leaving." she said. "You were so passionate about what you did and what you wanted to do that I thought I couldn't compete with that. I didn't want to hold you back from anything because I knew the sky was your limit. I wanted you to forget about me and be the best damn Caitlin Gellar you could be, because all I was good for was a couple bangs and a good time."

"No, Lo that's not true-"

"Let me finish," she cut in. "I wasn't as talented as you. I didn't have all the fancy music scholarships to choose from or even a lot of options period after high school. I knew you wouldn't leave me, even for your dream school, so I had to o instead. But I went to India because my dad was stationed there, not because I got accepted into a film school. I got in later, but just barely. I didn't mean to hurt you Caity, but I thought you'd be better without me. It killed me inside not to have you with me. I needed you. But I made myself drop the phone everytime I thought about calling you so I wouldn't be a distraction."

"A distraction?" I frowned. "You think you were a _distraction_ to me? Lo, you were my whole life! I cried for months when you left. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I wrote thousands of cheesy, sappy, idiotic love songs because I missed you. . . and you know I fucking hate those! I thought you hated me and it drove me insane because all I ever did was need you and love you and want you. God if you only knew how bad I wanted you over the last two years. I tried to forget you, I really did, but it was useless because my heart belonged to you and you were over in India ignoring my existence, probably having amazing sex with some Karma-sultra dancer goddess who-" Lola cut me off with her lips and pulled me in for a searing kiss. I honestly didn't know how to react; it had been so long since I had let anyone touch me like that, let alone Lola. My body fell right into position with hers, though it hadn't been in two years. I surrendered myself to her and leaned into her embrace as she held me close. Summer nights came flooding back when we were all alone in her Jeep. I remembered how I used to whisper dirty things in her ear until she couldn't take it anymore and pounced on me. How we used to stay up all night and fall asleep talking on the phone about nothing at all. How our parents were so pissed when they found us swimming naked in the pool. The day I asked her to be mine. The night we first lost our innocence and gained each other as a lover. The first "I love you", but definitely not the last. The day she said goodbye and every tear I tried to cover up until now.

I pulled back first and she mumbled an apology.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me but I had to kiss you again." she told me apologetically. "If it was just one last time."

"It won't be." I promised her, pulling her in for another kiss. Neither of us tried to fight it. "I. . . I don't want to lose you again, Lo." Not after two years of longing for her to be with me. She stared at me in silence, and I could faintly hear the people inside counting down the New Year.

**TEN!**

"So, you're giving me another chance?" she smiled brightly.

**NINE!**

I smiled back and nodded. I wasn't going to let her slip away again.

**EIGHT!**

"Yeah, I'm just that crazy about you." I told her.

**SEVEN!**

"Lucky for me." Lola laughed. "And I won't run away again, I promise."

**SIX!**

"I really missed you," I told her. She moved a few stray hairs from my face and tucked them behind my ear.

**FIVE!**

"I really missed you too, Baby." she cooed. I laughed. I missed her baby voice.

**FOUR!**

"Come here." I said. I opened my arms wide.

**THREE!**

I put my hands on her waist.

**TWO!**

She wrapped her arms around my neck.

**ONE!**

Our eyes met and so did our lips.

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

"Happy new year, Honey." Lola whispered. Her eyes sparkled again. "I promise we're starting over this year."

"Not starting over," I corrected. "Just picking up where we left off."

"Does that include sex?" Lola giggled. "'Cause I can show you a few moves I learned from a dancer friend of mine while I was in India. She was a sex _goddess._"

"Cute. Real cute." I sighed. She kissed me again and nuzzled her nose against mine. Maybe this year won't be so bad afterall.

* * *

><p><strong>HAPPY NEW YEAR YA'LL! :D Thanks to everyone who's been so patient with my basically non-existent updates lol and thanks to everyone that reads my stories! I love you guys! You're the best! hope everyone has an amazing new year 3 ~Teenagedreamer307<strong>


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